June 21, 2023

Beyond Gravity And SpaceFounders Join Forces To Support Start-ups (Source: SpaceRef)
SpaceFounders and Beyond Gravity both combine to support young, innovative start-ups. Both organizations have decided to cooperate in their start-up programs in the future. This concerns both the selection of start-ups and the exchange within the programs. SpaceFounders and Beyond Gravity both offer well-established, tailored start-up programs for young companies from the space environment.

Beyond Gravity, a leading global supplier to the space industry and the largest Swiss space company, and SpaceFounders, the go-to start-up program of the French space agency CNES, the University of the German Armed Forces and the Italian space agency ASI, will cooperate more closely in the future and seek an intensive exchange in their two start-up programs. To this end, both companies have signed a cooperation agreement that strengthens the connection and active exchange within the individual modules of the two programs. (6/20)

True Anomaly Announces Digital and On-Orbit Range Solutions Engineered to Ensure Space Readiness (Source: SpaceRef)
True Anomaly unveiled its Digital Range application as well as its On-Orbit Range service, offering both digital and live solutions for high-fidelity test events, tactics validation, threat replication, and operator training. True Anomaly’s Jackal autonomous orbital vehicles (AOVs) will enable the company’s On-Orbit range service. The first two Jackal satellites are slated to launch into low-Earth orbit in February aboard a SpaceX Transporter-10 mission with initial demonstrations to follow. (6/20)

New Space Companies Join ESA's Copernicus (Source: ESA)
With commercial companies playing an increasingly important role in creating a dynamic and innovative space industry, nine New Space satellite data suppliers have joined the Copernicus program as ‘Contributing Missions’. The companies are: Aerospacelab in Belgium, Prométhée in France and EnduroSat in Bulgaria to supply multispectral images from their different satellite constellations; Kuva Space Oy in Finland to supply hyperspectral images; constellr in Germany, OroraTech also in Germany and Aistech in Spain to provide thermal infrared data from their satellite missions; and Satlantis in Spain and Absolut Sensing in France to provide data on atmospheric composition. (6/19)

ULA Postpones Delta 4 Heavy Launch After Valve Problem (Source: Florida Today)
United Launch Alliance postponed the penultimate launch of the Delta 4 Heavy overnight because of a ground system problem. The launch from Cape Canaveral was scheduled for 3:29 a.m. Eastern but scrubbed about two hours in advance because of what ULA called a problem with a "ground systems pneumatic valve." The launch of the classified NROL-68 mission has been rescheduled for Thursday at 3:25 a.m. Eastern. (6/21)

ULA Shuts Down Delta Production Line in Alabama (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
ULA has already shut down the Delta production line ahead of the vehicle's final flight next year. The components for the final Delta 4 Heavy arrived at Cape Canaveral in May for an NRO mission launching in 2024. A ULA executive said Tuesday that the company is now converting the Delta assembly line at its Alabama factory to support increased production on the Vulcan Centaur rocket. (6/21)

Aerojet Rocketdyne Hot Fires Large Solid Rocket Motor for Next Generation MRBM Target (Source: Space Daily)
Aerojet Rocketdyne has completed the qualification static fire test of the eSR-19, the advanced large solid rocket motor that will power the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) next generation Medium Range Ballistic Missile (MRBM) target used to test our nation's missile defense systems. (6/21)

Lockheed Raises Concerns Over L3Harris-Aerojet Deal (Source: Reuters)
Lockheed Martin has raised concerns with DoD and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about L3Harris's acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne. Frank St John told Reuters that Lockheed, Aerojet's biggest customer, wanted L3Harris to ensure access to rocket motors, fair pricing and IP protections, adding that it had received "little response" from L3Harris over its concerns. "This is really concerning to us because they are going to be vital to meeting the increasing demand that we're seeing on multiple weapons systems," such as the Javelin missile launcher and Patriot air defense system.

If L3Harris continues to be unresponsive, Lockheed wants the Defense Department or FTC to put in place a mechanism to guarantee access to technology, St John said. A spokesperson for L3Harris did not comment on the concerns raised by Lockheed directly but said: "We are in an FTC process and expect the transaction to close the second half of 2023." The FTC declined to comment, Aerojet Rocketdyne referred requests for comment to L3Harris and Defense Department did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. (6/20)

Skyrora Tests 3D-Printed Rocket Engine for Space Launches in Scotland (Source: Interesting Engineering)
In the United Kingdom, first-of-its-kind 3D-printed rocket engines are being tested for real-world applications. Skyrora, an Edinburgh-based firm, is executing a series of tests in preparation for its first commercial orbital launch. The full-duration tests on an updated design of a 70kN engine are being conducted at the largest test site in Midlothian, Scotland. (6/20)

New Form of Electromagnetic Launch Will Reduce Orbital Costs by 100-Fold (Source: Space Daily)
Reducing orbital launch costs by 100-fold would be world changing, and that's what Electromagnetic Launch Inc. (EML) and Robinson Research Institute of Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand aim to do in a new partnership agreement and demonstration experiment announced May 30, 2023.

The partners intend to prove the physics and demonstrate the engineering for a "Quench Launcher," a non-contact form of electromagnetic launch using a combination of U.S. and New Zealand technology. The current price of reaching low-earth orbit is $1,000.00 per pound. Estimates show operating costs of $3.00 per pound to orbit can be achieved with a robust electromagnetic launch system. (6/21)

5 Tips for Running a Profitable Aerospace Shop (Source: MMS Online)
For over 30 years, Aerotech Machining has served the demanding aerospace market. The company runs out of a 70,0000-square-foot facility in Bloomingdale, Georgia, where it has met success and weathered downturns, including both the 2008 financial crash and the drop in aerospace orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through it all, the company has stayed afloat due to five key strategies. Click here. (6/19) 

Startups From India and Germany Raise Capital for SSA (Source: Space News)
Two startups have raised early-stage funding for space situational awareness (SSA) services. Indian company Digantara said Tuesday it raised $10 million that will support work on a series of smallsats that will collect SSA data from LEO as well as build out a platform for providing that data to customers. Peak XV Partners, a venture fund until recently known as Sequoia Capital India, led the Series A1 round. German startup Vyoma raised $9.3 million for its own debris-monitoring satellites that will supplement a network of ground-based SSA telescopes. The extended seed round included investment from French aerospace giant Safran, which will help develop the constellation. (6/21)

Orbital Composites Building Space Portfolio of Space Products (Source: Space News)
Orbital Composites, a California company focused on robotic additive manufacturing, is making inroads into the in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM) market. The company has projects underway with Axiom Space, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, as well as several SBIRs from the U.S. military. Orbital Composites is developing radiation-tolerant satellites, technology to capture space debris, quantum antennas and robotic ISAM platforms. The company also is developing technology to 3D-print thermal protection systems and rocket nozzles. (6/21)

Ramon.Space and Foxconn Partner on Space Computing Products (Source: Space News)
Space computing company Ramon.Space announced a strategic partnership with Foxconn Tuesday. Through the partnership, Ingrasys, a Foxconn Technology subsidiary based in Taiwan, will manufacture Ramon.Space computing products globally. That will establish what Ramon.Space says will be the first high-volume production line for space-resilient computing products. (6/21)

Musk and Modi Discuss Starlink Service for India (Source: Business Today)
Elon Musk made the case for approving Starlink service in India during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Musk and Modi met in New York Tuesday during Modi's state visit to the United States. Musk said after the meeting that one topic involved securing approval to provide Starlink service in the country. (6/21)

SpaceX Starts Beaming Data From Second-Gen Starlink Constellation (Source: PC Magazine)
SpaceX is indicating it’s starting to use the second-generation Starlink constellation to beam internet data. On Tuesday, the company notified(Opens in a new window) the FCC about the development. “SpaceX has initiated communications between spacecraft in its Gen2 non-geostationary orbit satellite system and licensed earth stations with directional antennas located within the United States,” it wrote. (6/20)

Telstra and OneWeb Seal Deal on Delivering New Satellite Solutions (Source: OneWeb)
Telstra and OneWeb are set to deliver one of the world’s largest rollouts of OneWeb low Earth Orbit (LEO) backhaul for a commercial mobile network. After testing in Australia, Telstra and OneWeb have agreed commercial terms and will begin moving hundreds of existing remote mobile base stations currently using satellite backhaul to OneWeb’s LEO solution from later this year. Meanwhile, Telstra will adopt OneWeb LEO services for future sites where satellite backhaul is the preferred or only viable option. (6/19)

Why LEO Satellite Players are Telcos’ New Best Friends (Source: TelecomTV)
Connecting remote locations is important if digital coverage targets are to be met. Non-terrestrial technology options, particularly low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites, are increasingly seen as a viable option. Telcos are brokering partnerships with satellite players to test and make use of such connectivity services. The latest moves show increased activity in the Asia Pacific region. (6/20)

Planet Labs Stock Isn't Living Up to Its Promises (Source: Motley Fool)
Planet Labs deeply disappointed investors last week, reporting weak sales growth in Q1 -- and promising even weaker growth in Q2. Full-year fiscal 2024 sales now look like they'll be less than half as strong as once expected. Management reported that sales grew only 31% year over year. Granted, that was in line with management's forecasts given in April, but it was far short of the 51% fiscal 2024 growth that Planet Labs had been talking about back in 2021. With nearly 200 Earth observation satellites in orbit, Planet Labs owns the world's biggest constellation of private "spy" satellites. On the plus side, Planet Labs stock is cheaper than it once was. (6/19)

NASA Shows What 30 Years of Rising Seas Feels Like in Chilling New Animation (Source: Science Alert)
NASA has released a chilling animation showing just how far sea levels have risen in the three short decades its satellites have been monitoring them. The data visualization, released last week, is the work of Andrew J. Christensen, a data visualizer for the NASA Scientific Visualization Studio. By animating observed changes in global sea level captured by satellites whizzing overhead between 1993 and 2022, the imagery transforms a complex mix of numbers into something far more relatable. Click here. (6/21)

BepiColombo Succeeds with Mercury Flyby (Source: ESA)
The latest flyby of Mercury by BepiColombo was a success. The spacecraft came within 236 kilometers of the innermost planet's surface during the flyby Monday. ESA said that the flyby went "very smoothly" and the spacecraft returned a set of images from a monitoring camera. The flyby was the third of six for the joint ESA/JAXA mission before it goes into orbit around Mercury in late 2025. (6/21)

Rover on the Home Stretch to the Martian Moon Phobos (Source: Space Daily)
The origin of the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos is still an unsolved mystery in planetary research. Both moons will be the targets of the Japanese Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission. A German-French rover will land on Phobos as part of the mission and conduct a mobile exploration - despite the extremely low gravity. Japan, Germany and France signed a trilateral cooperative agreement. Meanwhile, the completion of the rover, including instruments and systems, is on the home stretch towards summer 2023. The rover has been named IDEFIX. (6/21)

Europe’s New Ambitions for Space Exploration (Source: ESA)
Join us at the Paris Air Show for a conference looking at Europe’s ambitions in human and robotic space exploration. Speakers include ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, CNES CEO Philippe Baptiste, Director General of the German Space Agency Walther Pelzer and Italian Space Agency (ASI) President Teodoro Valente. ESA astronauts Thomas Pesquet, Samantha Cristoforetti and Matthias Maurer will contribute their views. Click here. (6/20)

ESA Backs Greek Firms' and Universities' CubeSats (Source: Space Daily)
Seven CubeSat missions that demonstrate a variety of services including connectivity and secure communications are being developed by small and medium-sized companies and universities in Greece, following an open call and selection by ESA. The initiative underpins efforts - led by ESA on behalf of the Greek Ministry of Digital Governance - to expand the nascent space industry in Greece, enabling the digital transformation of society while creating jobs and generating prosperity, as part of the nation's EU-funded Recovery and Resilience Facility. (6/21)

OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Will Have New Home in Houston (Source: Space Daily)
If everything goes according to plan, OSIRIS-REx's sample return capsule will separate from the spacecraft, enter the Earth's atmosphere and parachute safely to Earth for recovery at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range, located about 70 miles west of Salt Lake City. Data collected from the OSIRIS-REx mission will also help scientists better understand asteroids that could impact Earth and inform future asteroid deflection efforts.

To investigate these questions, scientists must carefully preserve, protect, and handle the asteroid samples, which will be examined and stored in a new curation facility managed by NASA's Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science division, or ARES, at Johnson Space Center. The division is home to the world's most extensive collection of extraterrestrial materials - including lunar rocks, solar wind particles, meteorites, and comet samples. (6/20)

Swedish Astronaut 'Fast-Tracked' to Join Crew of Next Axiom Space Mission (Source: Space.com)
The European Space Agency (ESA) has called up a reserve Swedish astronaut to journey to space as part of the private space mission Axiom 3 (Ax-3). Marcus Wandt, 43, will journey to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft no earlier than November 2023. Wandt and the other three members of the Ax-3 crew will spend 14 days aboard the ISS. (6/20)

Women in Space: 60 Years Ago, History Was Made Above the Earth (Source: Florida Today)
ixty years ago, a small rocket launched from a remote site in the former Soviet Union, taking Valentina Tereshkova on a multi-day mission to Earth orbit and securing her place in history as the first woman in space. Her mission, made possible by a humble spacecraft known as Vostok-3KA, included an impressive 48 trips around Earth before returning home via a parachute landing. From liftoff on June 16, 1963, to landing, Tereshkova spent two days, 22 hours, and 50 minutes in space. (6/20)

Evidence is Building that Dark Matter is Made of Axions (Source: Universe Today)
There’s some potentially big news on the hunt for dark matter. Astronomers may have a handle on what makes this mysterious cosmic stuff: strange particles called “axions.” Rather than search directly for axions, however, a multinational team of researchers led by Keir Rogers from the University of Toronto looked for something else. They focused on the “clumpiness” of the Universe and found that cosmic matter is more evenly distributed than expected.

So, what role do axions play here? Quantum mechanics explains these ultra-light particles as “fuzzy” because they exhibit wave-like behavior. It turns out their wavelengths can be bigger than entire galaxies. Apparently, that fuzziness plays a role in smoothing out the Universe by influencing the formation and distribution of dark matter. If that’s true, then it goes a long way toward explaining why the matter in the cosmos is more evenly spread out. It implies that axions play a part in the distribution of matter in the cosmos. (6/20)

Expansion of the Universe Could Be a Mirage (Source: Live Science)
The expansion of the universe could be a mirage, a potentially controversial new study suggests. This rethinking of the cosmos also suggests solutions for the puzzles of dark energy and dark matter, which scientists believe account for around 95% of the universe's total energy and matter but remain shrouded in mystery.

Scientists have found evidence that the universe's expansion isn't fixed, but is actually accelerating. This accelerating expansion is captured by a term known as the cosmological constant, or lambda. The cosmological constant has been a headache for cosmologists because predictions of its value made by particle physics differ from actual observations. The cosmological constant has therefore been described as "the worst prediction in the history of physics." Cosmologists often try to resolve the discrepancy between the different values of lambda by proposing new particles or physical forces.

"In this work, we put on a new pair of glasses to look at the cosmos and its unsolved puzzles by performing a mathematical transformation of the physical laws that govern it," Lucas Lombriser said. In Lombriser's mathematical interpretation, the universe isn't expanding but is flat and static, as Einstein once believed. The effects we observe that point to expansion are instead explained by the evolution of the masses of particles — such as protons and electrons — over time. (6/20)

Spirit AeroSystems to Develop Composite Airframe Manufacturing Concept Under NASA Project (Source: Executive Biz)
Spirit AeroSystems has booked a contract to develop a concept for making airframe structures for a project that supports NASA’s Sustainable Flight National Partnership with the aviation sector. NASA awarded the grant under the Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing project involving 14 organizations that will conduct initial development efforts, Spirit said. The HiCAM awardees collectively secured an initial $50 million in March to offer concepts for agency evaluation. (6/20)